I have a confession to make: I have never been inside a Wal-Mart. There isn't one around here, and it is one of life's experiences that I have not sought out. I think that Wal-Mart has been doing some great things to combat global warming, and this is not an anti-Walmart screed. But the pictures I have seen on this page jolted me out of what little complacency I still had, which wasn't much. While I don't think that the people who visit Wal-Mart are any different than anyone else, there are some disturbing images coming out of those stores!
This rant is more along the lines of: "How did it happen that we became a nation of fat/obese people? When did this occur, and where is the trend leading? How do we get off this train??" As I was pulling in some facts for this post, I read an article by Kim Benson, author of "Finally Thin", who mentioned that 2/3 of our nation would qualify as "fat". We've had to change the size of our movie theater seats, our airplane seats and even our coffins come in super-size. Wow.
Ms. Benson's article, titled "Is It Okay To Be Fat?", made the excellent point that we have been given free will with which to make our own decisions, and neither one is easy. On the one hand we are surrounded with more and better cuisine, or more and worse -- name your poison! We have food from exotic countries that are exquisitely delicious, or we can go for a junk food binge. It has never, from what I can tell, been easier to eat in the United States.
The thing is, and I speak from experience, being on the plus side weight-wise just isn't a lot of fun. Clothes don't fit, bodies don't stay healthy, people don't treat you the same and you just plain don't feel as well. Personally, I hate being over-weight. I grant everyone else their right to be over-weight, but I don't wear it well.
The reason I got into this business -- once I discovered, to my utter astonishment, that Herbalife did all it promised and then some -- was that I realized how obsessively desperate so many people are to find some way to get and keep the pounds off. Why do so many diets fail? Why do we have such a hard time with this issue?
Well, clearly this is a substantive issue, and no single blog post can fully answer it. There are so many factors. Some overeat for psychological issues, out of boredom or neurosis. Some don't like exercise and live a sedentary life. Some are compulsively attached to sweets, some don't want to be bothered with the whole consideration. Some have lousy metabolisms and hormonal problems. The list goes on and on and the point is -- losing weight and keeping it off is one of the challenges of modern life.
How are we doing so far, do you think? I'd say we aren't doing so well. As Ms. Bensen notes, about 2/3 of our nation has some sort of weight problem. I'm not one to throw stones at the over-weight -- it's just another one of life's annoying little glitches that we were put here to deal with, in my point of view. And I really dislike it when I hear people putting out negative energy towards the overweight. Chances are those same people will get their turn to feel the disapproving stares of strangers when they are older and less fit.
But even though we were given free will, and we can make our choices, I think most of us would say that the best choice is to stay fit. Yeah, right! You tell that to the mom who has been pregnant and can't take the extra off, or to the person with the sluggish metabolism who doesn't feel up to exercising, or to the chronically depressed! Or to the post-menopausal woman who NEVER had any problems before menopause. Or to the man who has eaten exactly as he liked his whole life until one day he realizes he's let himself go and he isn't quite sure how or when it happened. And he sure doesn't know how he's going to get his body back together again.
That is exactly why I am in this business. Because I have found a way that has worked, not only for me but for thousands of people around the world. Anyone who has read any of this blog knows my story and I won't bore you by repeating it. But after I lost weight so effortlessly on Herbalife after many other starts and stops, I was so impressed with the health-giving, life-saving properties of the Herbalife product line that I determined I was going to spend my time telling people about them -- talking about them, yes, and selling them. They are THAT good.
Because Herbalife works. And when I have a client that doesn't get results, I've been through enough with my own body over the years to know when they need to see a doctor about potential thyroid or other metabolic problems. I'm not going to say it will always be as effortless for others as it was for me. Every body is different, and that's the honest truth. Some take it seriously and really are patient and will follow instructions; others don't have the staying power and won't end up with their desired results.
But with support from a wellness coach (that's a great name for what we do) and perhaps a group of like-minded friends who want to take walks together, or get together and discuss nutrition -- you've got a really good chance of taking off weight and keeping it off with the right diet plan -- and Herbalife -- now in 72 countries because it works -- with the brilliant concept of "targeted cellular nutrition" in play -- works. Remind me to post my (ugh) before and (much better!) after pictures one of these days soon!
If you have any questions about Herbalife in action -- go to www.herbalife.com and do some reading. Feel free to contact me with anything more personal. I will have my own e-commerce site up soon, and I look forward to welcoming you through its doors!
That's it for this evening -- now if I only had been smart enough to lay in enough Herbalife Vanilla Almond protein bars for the weekend! They are the yummiest ever made. Period. End of story.
